Todd Staples’ next immigration headache?

AUSTIN — Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, one of four Republicans running for lieutenant governor, is already coming under fire from opponents for voting as a state senator in 2001 to approve a bill allowing those in the country illegally to pay in-state tuition.

Staples, however, has another immigration-related vote from the same year that could also haunt him on the campaign trail: giving the OK to a bill that would have made it easier for undocumented immigrants to get a Texas driver license.

In an interview, Staples said he doesn’t remember voting on a bill to ease the process for immigrants in the country illegally to obtain a driver license. But he said he opposes the idea now.

“I don’t remember that ever coming up,” he said. “But I think it’s a grave mistake, and we need to oppose offering benefits to those who knowingly and willingly violate our nation’s entry laws.”

The driver license issue is a political lightning rod and a pending policy question at the Legislature. Backed by an influential House Republican, a plan to give undocumented workers specialized driving permits — not actual licenses — fizzled in the lower chamber during the regular session.

It’s also already surfaced as a topic in the governor’s race, when Sen. Wendy Davis endorsed the policy at the Texas Tribune Festival last month — only to draw a strong rebuke from the GOP gubernatorial front-runner Greg Abbott, who likened the idea to an “Obama-style approach.”

Two of Staples’ opponents — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who became Senate president in 2003, and Patrick — said through spokesmen that they each oppose legislation allowing illegal immigrants to get driver licenses.

The third challenger in the race, outspoken Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, pounced on the driver license vote from 2001, noting that Staples has used immigration and border security as a focal point of his campaign (Staples also penned a bookon the subject).

“There are lots of votes that happen that you’re not completely aware of,” said Patterson, a former state senator. “But you can’t be Mr. Border Security and run around with your flak jacket on the border, flying DPS helicopters, running around with DPS on a patrol boat and present this image of Mr. Macho Border Enforcer but then you have a record that doesn’t support that.”

In a statement, Staples campaign manager Cody McGregor said the commissioner “opposes issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants and publicly opposed issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants when a bill to do so was in the House last session.”

“The record is clear,” McGregor said.

Staples is already on the defensive for voting in 2001 to allow those in the country illegally to pay in-state tuition. At a tea party debate last week, Staples said he favors repealing the tuition policy, which he argues was pitched as an education bill at the time. He echoed those sentiments again this week.

Observers note that back in 2001 immigration was nowhere near as controversial as it is today. That’s why there was such broad support that session from both chambers to approve bills on in-state tuition and driver licenses for illegal immigrants. Nowadays, those same exact issues galvanize the far right.

“Now, anytime you open your mouth on immigration you potentially give your opponents in the primary an opportunity to use that against you,” said Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak.

That’s one of the main reasons why an effort to grant specialized drivers permits failed during the regular session, despite being pitched as a law enforcement measure and being backed by major business groups.

“We couldn’t convince enough of our Republicans to go along with it,” said Norm Adams, a staunch conservative who runs Texans for Sensible Immigration Policy, one of the main backers of the driving permit legislation. “They were afraid they’d get killed in the primaries.”

Under the 2001 legislation that Perry vetoed, House Bill 396, supporters argued that “it is only fair that DPS be required to accept all foreign birth certificates as proof of identification, because the agency now accepts Canadian birth certificates,” according to a legislative analysis.

“HB 396 would make it easier for all Texans to obtain driver’s licenses. It would ensure that all people were treated fairly when they applied for a license, while ensuring that DPS could verify an applicant’s identity.The current requirement that a person show a social security number or letter from the Social Security Administration often prevents undocumented immigrants from all countries, not just Mexico, from applying for licenses.Immigrants often deal with this problem by driving illegally without licenses and without state-required liability insurance.

This bill would help ensure the safety of Texas roads by allowing more drivers to be tested. In addition, it would have positive ripple effects for immigrants, allowing them to open bank accounts instead of having to carry large amounts of cash, which can make them robbery targets, and to use their driver’s licenses for identification.”